02 Jeep Liberty - warm heat

[jhmcar]

02 Jeep Liberty Sport 4x4 3.7

heat is just warm... replaced thermostat, radiator & hoses, about a month ago for a leak in radiator (pinhole in plastic side of radiator - common falure on these jeeps).. now that its getting cold in Chicago.. noticed my heat is only warm.. all online indications lean toward a Blend Door, or actuator, or clogged Heater Core.. all of which sounds like the entire dash needs to be removed and a discharge of the ac system.. no details online as to how to properly diagnose between the three and no details as to what fixed the people similar issue

has anyone done this.. and would it make sence to replace all three, blend door actuator heater core, if I have it all torn apart?

dreading the cost a dealer to diagnose/fix

[2000izusu]

make sure the coolants full with no air bubbles

flush the heater core. u do not have to take the dash out to do it.

what brand thermostat did u use? alot of aftermarket ones are bad out of the box!

[jhmcar]

Originally Posted by 2000izusu

make sure the coolants full with no air bubbles

flush the heater core. u do not have to take the dash out to do it.

what brand thermostat did u use? alot of aftermarket ones are bad out of the box!

Thanks for responding. Agree about t-stat. I used the most expensive one Napa had ($13.00). The plan is to flush H-core and replace t-stat again. If that doesnt work, then I move to the blend door..

[pkrieter]

I have the same problem. My A/C works great in the summer but the heat is just marginal when fully warmed up. I got good air flow and the hoses to and from the heater core get very hot so for me it looks like a blend door/blend door actuator issue. I read somewhere that there are two blend doors with a rod between the two, and sometimes the rod gets bent. Anyways, it looks like it has to be disassembled to remedy and I don't have the wherewithal to fix it and I don't have the money to get it fixed. At least mine has a seat heater, and that helps.

[Dusty53]

I had a similar problem with my 2002 Jeep Liberty, we had recently replaced the radiator due to overheating (after replacing the water pump/thermostat). The radiator was clogged with buildup.So, it made sense that he heater core was clogged as well. I undid both hoses and made up a pair of flush hose's using 3ft sections of 5/8 and 3/4 heater hose and installing garden hose female fitting in the end of each and pushing them over the appropriate heater core inlet/outlet pipes. I then flushed the core repeatedly, alertnating the garden hose from one hose to other (forward / back flush) after about what seemed like an hour, the "crud" stopped appearing in my white five gallon catch bucket. Heater works fine now.......Good luck.

[jhmcar]

Originally Posted by Dusty53

I had a similar problem with my 2002 Jeep Liberty, we had recently replaced the radiator due to overheating (after replacing the water pump/thermostat). The radiator was clogged with buildup.So, it made sense that he heater core was clogged as well. I undid both hoses and made up a pair of flush hose's using 3ft sections of 5/8 and 3/4 heater hose and installing garden hose female fitting in the end of each and pushing them over the appropriate heater core inlet/outlet pipes. I then flushed the core repeatedly, alertnating the garden hose from one hose to other (forward / back flush) after about what seemed like an hour, the "crud" stopped appearing in my white five gallon catch bucket. Heater works fine now.......Good luck.

That was it.. fixed!! I did just that.. made a hose modification to fit my yard hose... with crimping the hose for higher pressure.. then what seems to be more crud than I had ever expected came out. After about 45 minutes of repeated action on both sides of heater core, all was clear and I have rockin heat!